Physical Health
Generation growing up with digital addiction since childhood
Children’s addiction to digital devices, particularly smartphones, is now a growing problem for the development of their mental and physical health, according to experts.
Some children even cannot be fed without letting them watch smartphone contents in many cases in Bangladesh. The children are losing their social life due to excessive addiction to smartphones, they said.
Sumaiya Khatun, mother of two children, said rearing children is now a challenge for her as both of her children are addicted to smartphones.
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"My son who is four years old is desperate for digital devices. He is used to watching internet content. He can’t think of his time without the smartphone. This is now a lifestyle for him as he always keeps the phone with him to watch cartoons and other porgrammes," she said.
She also said that her two-year-old daughter is also interested in internet content like his brother. "We have tried a lot to get them out of this habit. We provide them with smartphones as it is not possible to stay with them all the time. But it looks odd for us as they always stay with smartphones," she added.
Sumaiya said their concentration on smartphones is a matter of tension for us as they may browse different websites or content which is not appropriate to their age.
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Another working parent shared his concern over the issue as their seven-year-old girl, who is studying in class one, cannot think of a moment without looking at her phone.
The father of the Girl Faisal Hasan who is working as the Senior Information Officer in the Press Information Department posted in Dhaka while a private job holder Mother along with her daughter lives in Chattogram.
"We are really concerned about her mental and physical health and social grooming as she spent most of her leisure time watching online content. We allow it as we are busy with our job," the father of the daughter told UNB.
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He also said that they did not find any alternative to allowing her to spend time on smartphones.
"But it seems a dangerous thing for her creativity and proper social grooming. She now prefers watching online content to playing with other friends. The pandemic makes the situation worse than usual," he added.
“Now the digital addiction is the key barrier to children's proper social grooming,” said a businessman Abul Hossain.
Also read: Effects of Video Game: Benefits, and risks of too much gaming
Founding President of Dhaka University IT Society and writer Abdullah Al Imran said that today's children are the future. But internet addiction
is destroying their future. The addiction is even more intense when children have been immersed in online content since childhood.
3 years ago
How to strengthen your immune system to prevent COVID-19 infections?
With the recent surge of coronavirus infections, conscious people are seeking all the possible ways to boost immunity. Although vaccines are available, the whole world wouldn't be vaccinated overnight. It will take years to vaccinate the seven billion people. And for third-world countries, vaccination could be a rare thing. Hence, defending COVID-19 with our body's immune system will be the only way to survive. Strengthening your immune to prevent COVID-19 is collective and long-term work. One cannot simply gain the immune right away. However, you can gradually achieve the proper immune system through a healthy lifestyle and physical activity.
Read Vitamin C: Where to Found and How Much to Consume
Boost your Immune through Practicing Healthy Lifestyle
Having a proper sleep, taking nutritious meals, and leading a stress-free lifestyle can definitively raise the functionality of your immune system.
Getting quality sleep is a significant health behavior to function the immune system properly, which also works on boosting physical and mental health as well as the quality of life. According to the experts and doctors getting more than seven hours of sleep is essential to make your adult body's metabolism work suitably. However, 11-14 hours of sleep for infants or toddlers, 10-13 hours for preschoolers, 9-12 hours for school-going kids, and 8-10 hours for the teens are necessary.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh breaks records with 7,213 daily cases, 66 deaths
With the surge of COVID-19, our stress level is also getting high accordingly. It is normal to get stress during this global pandemic. But, staying stress-free is highly essential to keep your body fit. For a stress-free lifestyle, you can take healthy meals, practice regular exercise, take self-care and maintain COVID-19 health protocols. Each of these behaviors is connected to our stress-free lifestyle.
Increase Immune System with physical activity and exercise
A mild, intense physical activity is connected with a better immune function. Hence you should continue regular physical activity to increase your immune system. However, physical activity can be in many forms, which you can practice for the wellbeing of your health.
The first thing you can do is keep your body moving. It can be any kind of intense aerobic physical activity. Experts recommend having moderate exercise at least 150-300 minutes per week. This can keep your body's metabolism on track.
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If you are unable to do aerobics activity, you can try indoor activities. It can be walking briskly in the house or even up and down the stairs every day for 10-15 minutes for 2 or 3 times. Besides, you may also dance with your favorite music, or exercise on home cardio machines, or even you can try jump rope.
If you can go outside of your home, you can also walk or run on the f roads. Though you cannot go outside of your house, working out at home should be okay. Outdoor activities are way more useful than indoor activities. Nevertheless, if you are going out, you should keep in mind that you will need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.
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Furthermore, regular physical exercise at home will also work. You can download a workout app on your smartphone and follow that to start your physical exercise at home.
Yoga is another way to keep your body moving. Deep breathing, along with mindfulness, works as a catalyst to reduce anxiety. Therefore, your stress level will definitely reduce through yoga. You try watching a yoga video with instructions to start yoga at home.
Take Food to Enhance the Immunity
All your exercise will not work if you don't take proper nutrition. Even though you don't exercise, you need nutrients to strengthen the body's immunity during the COVID-19. You can take the nutrients from natural resources such as fruits and vegetables.
Read Where to Buy Grocery Online in Dhaka during Quarantine?
Vitamin C is the ultimate shield against the coronavirus and any bacteria. You can get Vitamin C on green fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit, lemon, broccoli, bell peppers, green peppers, etc.
Vitamin D is also essential to fight off any infections. Besides, it can work on building strong bones. You can find Vitamin D on mushrooms, cereals, bread, and fortified milk. However, if you want to take Vitamin D via a natural source, you can stay under the sunlight for 5-10 minutes every day.
Vitamin A keeps your skin and tissue healthy which also works against infections and boosts the immune system. Sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots are the common sources of Vitamin A.
Also read: Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
Vitamin E is another vital element for your body's immune system. It is an essential antioxidant that works in fighting against cell damages. Plant-based foods are a great source of Vitamin E. Commonly, nuts and peanut butter are usual sources to get Vitamin E.
Finally, Zinc is one of the essential antioxidants for COVID-19 patients as well as healthy persons. It increases the metabolism that also boosts the healing process. You can find Zinc on shellfish, beans, meat, and seeds/nuts.
Apart from these natural sources, you can also take supplements as we may not buy these foods always. Vitamin supplements are available over the counter, so you don't need prescriptions to buy those. But it is recommended to take advice from medical practitioners or doctors.
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Limitations of Immune System Against COVID-19
It is essential to keep in mind that the strong immune system will not work to prevent you from getting COVID-19. It can just help you to recover quickly if you ever contract coronavirus. So, if you have a strong immune system, coronavirus may not damage your body parts.
Final Words
It is always good to maintain COVID-19 health safety protocols such as wearing a mask, keeping social distance, washing your hands frequently, maintaining good hygiene, and cough etiquette.
There is a saying that "prevention is better than cure," which everyone should follow during this coronavirus global pandemic. New variations of COVID-19 do not have a significantly proven cure yet. But we can prevent it or even fight it by strengthening our immune system.
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3 years ago